Hope you enjoyed the third-hottest summer ever!

BREAKING NEWS: The summer was hot. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its monthly “State of the Climate” assessment this morning. Think of it as the medical chart at the foot of the country’s bed as it withers from its fever. Here’s how the summer shaped up. The warmer than average August, in combination with the hottest July and a warmer than average June, contributed to the third hottest summer on record for the contiguous United States. The summer season’s nationally-averaged temperature was 74.4°F, 2.3°F above the 20th century average. Only the summers of 2011 (74.5°F) and 1936 (74.6°F) had higher temperatures for the Lower 48. Click to embiggen. Some good news: The month of August itself was only the 16th warmest on record, meaning that climate change isn’t real and we should all dump some burning oil into nearby rivers in celebration. The su...